Five months after the deadly fall of the canopy in Novi Sad, Serbian daily news has settled down: students in lockdown every day, various protest actions are organized across the country, and citizens' assemblies do the same, and the government tries in every possible way to suppress the rebellion. Exception to the use of the "Sound Cannon" at a large protest in Belgrade on March 15, sporadic beatings and arrests, the government has so far mostly refrained from applying greater repression in the expectation that this nightmare that befell it will pass.
We passed - although the backbone of the education workers was largely broken by the illegal cut of salaries and threats of dismissal, the Philharmonic also gave up on the suspension of work, the theaters are working, the lawyers refrain from entering into a longer suspension of work, the prosecutors and judges, after the rather scandalous threats of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, that he will remove those who do not sue and judge as he likes, contented themselves with some of their protest announcements...
Officials in the Government, ministries, Chamber of Commerce, municipalities... who, and there are many of them, would like to see the back of Vučić, who is increasingly breaking out of the framework of normal behavior, but they do not dare to express it publicly. They are afraid of being fired, just as they are afraid of the consequences if they don't show up between April 11 and 13 at that gathering, fair, public celebration, whatever, that Vučić scheduled in front of the National Assembly so that he can show, at least on Pink and Informer, that his is bigger than the student protest. He must try to prevent the citizens, who are swayed by their fear of him or their love for him, or, God forbid, some partners in ruling the country, from crossing over to the other side.
This civil disobedience has lasted too long for any government, let alone one headed by such an authoritative president of the state, who reacts to every criticism inappropriately, to put it mildly. It seems that he can't stand it anymore, that he has no more patience to wait to see if everything that is happening in the country, like every time before, will pass by itself.
Because there are students who do not give up, and high school students are increasingly joining the rebellion. University professors still, although the same method of pressure and intimidation is being applied against them as against teachers, seem unmoved. That trinity keeps the fire of opposition to the estranged regime alive.
That is why the threats from the top of the government and the regime media are growing, the incitement of aggression is getting stronger, and as a result, violence can almost be felt in the air and can explode at any moment.
Students do not believe in the good will of the authorities
Because of all this, the students of the University of Belgrade in the blockade announced on Instagram on Tuesday that it is increasingly difficult to believe in the good will to fulfill the student demands, as evidenced by the "systematic neglect and falsification of the fulfillment of the second demand" in which, among other things, the dismissal of any person who attacked students and professors is requested.
"Igor Đogić, the person numbered 10, was not only not sanctioned in any way, but was also rewarded with the position of junior officer in the municipality of Voždovac. A meeting of the Voždovac municipal council was planned for Friday, March 21, at which the budget was to be discussed. According to the information we have, up to 70 percent of the budget would go to employees, among whom is Igor Đogić," the students' announcement states.
According to their opinion, this is another proof that it is increasingly difficult to believe in the good will to fulfill the demands, because the people whom the students claim attacked them are being rewarded.
"They constantly tell us that our demands have been met and invite us to dialogue, while on the other hand, physical violence and threats are increasing. Most of the attackers are directly or indirectly connected to a certain party and its actions," students in the blockade point out in a statement.
Threats and insults
He further writes: "The student struggle is not partisan, but those who stand against that struggle are, which is also visible in the first example, which is the attack on colleagues from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. Various representatives of the ruling coalition approve of violence and encourage it. This violence not only does not stop since the beginning of the student protests, but also escalates."
According to the students, the highest state representatives, members of the government and parliament in front of the ruling coalition, have been calling for and threatening violence for months.
"It was said that we will be destroyed, scattered, and that their people can hardly refrain from smashing us. With one hand, the regime officially and unwillingly fulfills our demands, even when we ourselves have not yet determined it. And with the other hand, the regime calls for violence, and even arms fake students with hammers and stones," the students in the blockade warn in a post.
They emphasize that they still hope for the fulfillment of the demand that "those who attack peaceful protesters with fists or vehicles should be prosecuted and punished."
"On the other hand, we are also aware that the essence of this request could come back as a boomerang to the perpetrators of violence, therefore the second request is constantly relevant in our student and civil struggle," they conclude in the publication.
The students in the blockade do not announce how they think they can make the government fulfill their demands, when all that has happened so far has not fundamentally moved it from its place. During that time, Aleksandar Vučić said that he was writing a book, a world bestseller, about how he defeated the "colored revolution" without using a stick or firing a single bullet. The end of the rebellion in the universities and the whole society is announced for the middle of April.
